There are many angles to the new policy that denies the opportunity of baby blessings and baptisms to children being raised by gay parents. The reasoning behind this policy is complex and the ramifications - good, bad, or indifferent - are widespread. But what is lost in this uncomfortable discussion is what it means when the LDS church makes such declarations of policy in the first place.
I've discussed this concept before in private correspondence but have never blogged publicly about the actual concept of prophets and apostles. There is a gross misunderstanding in the Mormon faith that what is taught in church on Sundays or even what is taught in General Conference twice a year is the same thing as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These two things are in fact different. We are all striving to gain a more perfect understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is deep and complex and inexhaustible and which is gained through personal experience and personal revelation.
What is taught in church is what needs to be said to the saints all at once, usually with the weakest among us in mind. This holds true as well when the prophet and apostles share messages to the entire church body. They know it is incumbent upon the more valiant and able members to seek further enlightenment via their own personal study and personal prayer. In other words, the church should not have to babysit and spoon feed higher truths to those members of the Mormon faith who are perfectly capable of gaining those answers on their own. That's why God gave us personal prayer and the Gift of the Holy Ghost and why we are told that a slothful servant is one that must be commanded in all things. Slothfulness also applies to those who do not seek higher truths than what we are taught on Sundays. I for one choose to not be a slothful servant.
The issue at hand with this new church policy is not so much a matter of children or gays or lesbians or baptism or blessings. Rather, the issue at hand is whether or not Mormons are going to choose to sustain the living prophet and apostles. But in order to truly and effectively sustain the living prophet and apostles, one must understand what the heck that concept even means. And therein lies the problem. This is why some are leaving the Mormon church while others are blindly defending everything and anything that is officially done in its name. This is a false dichotomy that is wrecking havoc in the lives of so many.
Christians of all faiths have whitewashed the history of prophets and that is no more evident than among Mormons since we believe in living prophets and apostles. The perception of perfection is of critical importance to the beliefs of the average Mormon when it comes to the men God chooses to lead us, both past and present. Yet, any honest reading of the scriptures shows prophets and apostles that are deeply flawed individuals, just like you and me. There are countless examples of this in the scriptures, which is truly amazing considering what little information we have on these men. One can only imagine what we would think if we were privy to more in-depth, balanced information on the prophets and apostles of old.
As we know, 2/3 of the pages in the Book of Mormon were sealed because we could not handle the truths that were contained therein. Think about how much information is contained in those pages, which double the number of pages contained in the Book of Mormon itself! Is it really that far fetched to assume that perhaps some of the truths contained in all of those hundreds and hundreds of pages pertain to the flaws and imperfections of the prophets we place on such high pedestals? Is that really too much of a leap?
Our early church history is littered with the mistakes and flaws of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and many other important church leaders. Even in the latter half of the 20th century, many actions by the living prophets and apostles can probably be safely categorized as mistakes if you really go back and study the history of the church. Even today, few members of the church would sustain our current prophet and apostles if they knew every single detail about them. But at the end of the day, is that a problem with the prophet and apostles or is that a problem with the people of our faith?
The only person in the history of mankind that Mormons would be comfortable sustaining as a prophet, having all knowledge at their disposal, is Jesus Christ himself. That's it. Because the standard by which we hold prophets and apostles to is nothing less than ridiculous. And the job of being a prophet or apostle is literally impossible. Every man is pre-determined to fall short of expectations. That they succeed as well as they do is nothing short of a miracle.
Many Latter Day Saints are worried about how they are going to defend this new policy. I, for one, am not going to defend this new policy. It's not my policy; I never would have come up with this policy; I am not going to defend that which I did not create and do not fully understand. But defending Thomas S. Monson? Defending Henry B. Eyring? Defending Dieter F. Uchtdorf? Defending the men who are behind this new policy? That's about the easiest thing I'll be asked to do all day.
Too many members of the church think prophets and apostles gain revelation through some sort of mystical, magical process. The truth is, prophets and apostles receive inspiration from God just like you and me. The process is the exact same. And I don't know about you but receiving clear and precise personal revelation is hard enough as it is. God doesn't make this life easy. Receiving revelation on behalf of others, particularly when "others" entails 15 million people spread out across the globe? I can only imagine how utterly impossible that task must feel like. Sometimes we are asked to pray for the prophet and the apostles. There is a reason for that.
I don't care what this new policy is all about. Nothing in it changes all of the good that is accomplished in the Mormon church. Nothing is different today that wasn't true all of the days prior regarding the service and the compassion and the righteousness that emanates from those who live this religion. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the restored church of Jesus Christ in these modern times. And the Christ-like qualities that Mormons in every corner of the globe possess is something that can only be accomplished through living prophets and apostles, whose leadership is founded on continuing revelation as well as a keen understanding of and personal adherence to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
